Reaching Out – Excerpt from Cross My Heart

I’m very excited about this short-story anthology with fellow authors Mia Darien, Jessica Nicholls, and Crystal G. Smith. All the stories are contemporary romance focused on fields of service.

My story, Cross My Heart, features the American Red Cross. And – even better – 100% of the proceeds from the sales of the book will be donated to the American Red Cross.

Just for fun, here’s a little sneak peak at Cross My Heart…..

*****

Emmeline Jordan, Emmie to those who knew her best, unlocked the door to her little second-floor apartment with numb fingers and a numb heart. Once inside, she dropped her purse and other equipment on the floor without really thinking about what she was doing. She walked over to the small table in her equally small kitchenette, sank down, and lay her head on her arms, feeling utterly deflated.

Hell, it’d been a beastly day–one spent entirely on her feet. From almost the moment she’d gone off her shift at the hospital, she’d been called in to help the victims of a nasty apartment fire that had been triggered by the earthquake. She’d felt the shaking while she’d been changing out of her scrubs. While the quake hadn’t done a ton of damage locally, apparently it had knocked over a candle left burning while the owner was at work.

Emmie was a pediatric nurse by trade, but she volunteered with the Red Cross as one of their local Disaster Action Team. Today had been particularly difficult because of the fire, stirring up memories best left alone. It was a risk she took with full understanding that she might encounter situations so familiar they were painful. But helping others in their worst moments was worth a little personal pain.

Emmie had no idea how long she’d been sitting there when someone knocked on her door. She didn’t even lift her head. Must be a mistake because she wasn’t expecting anyone. So she ignored them. But whoever was out there knocked again.

“Go away,” she groaned.

“Open up, Emmie. I know you’re in there,” a masculine voice called from outside.

Slowly Emmie lifted her head, blinking owlishly. Carter? Couldn’t be.

Images of the handsome pediatric surgeon at her hospital–tall and lean with thick hair that begged to be mussed and a sexy indentation in his strong chin–flashed through her mind. A few months earlier she’d shared something with him in a moment of weakness, and she thought of him as a friend. But still, what was he doing here right now?